Readers sound off on boosting state education, dismantling USAID and family preference
Manhattan: The latest results from the Nation's Report Card make one thing painfully clear: New York is spending more on education than any other state, yet our students are falling further behind. Right now, only one-third of New York City's fourth-graders are proficient in math, and 28% can read at grade level. The numbers are just as alarming for eighth-graders, with 23% proficient in math and 29% proficient in reading. Despite record-high education spending, New York students are performing below the national average. The numbers don't lie — our system is failing and our students are paying the price.
More money isn't the answer; smarter investments are. Students need real, research-backed interventions that accelerate post-pandemic learning recovery. Here are two clear-eyed solutions: invest in high-impact tutoring (HIT), an evidence-based strategy that delivers real academic gains, and expand school choice, giving families more options and ensuring that every child has access to a high-quality education.
We're advocating for both policies this legislative session with partners in the public charter school sector and collaborating with Assembly Member Brian Cunningham to launch a statewide tutoring pilot program. While HIT and school choice won't solve New York's reading and math crises, they are both critical tools to help students catch up and get back on track.
New York's education system is broken. How much longer will we keep paying for failure? It's time to stop the waste and invest in what works. Jacquelyn Martell, executive director, Education Reform Now New York
Manhattan: I am writing to voice my strong support for physicians and health care providers. Congressional bill H.R. 879 will fix the physician fee schedule debacle that is creating an impediment to patient care. Rising costs make it more important than ever to create a sustainable payment platform for providers. As founder and CEO of the largest physical therapy company in the New York metro area, keeping our patients out of the ER is both smart and cost effective. Please support this much-needed physician fee schedule fix to keep access open to our patients. Dan Rootenberg
Brooklyn: It was a pleasure to turn to 1010 WINS on the radio yesterday morning and hear Paul Murnane's voice. He and Wayne Cabot are very much missed, as well as WCBS Newsradio 880. L. Veneroni
Manhattan: Kobayashi Issa, the haiku master, discovered that the medium was destructive of the message because the warm urine 'makes a very straight hole.' The article '3 swastika bigots strike at Wash. Sq. Pk., St. John's U.' (Feb. 4) reports that 'the NYPD's hate crimes task force' was seeking help in identifying the two 'hatemongers' who were suspected of drawing swastikas on the snow near St. John's University. Ownership of snow depends upon what state the snow falls in. In New York, it appears that snow is common property. If ownership of snow is a murky question, can there be a graffiti misdemeanor? As to a hate crime, the symbolism of drawing an offensive image on an impermanent surface suggests the opposite. Graffiti on snow plus midwinter's warming sun rays equals melted messages. Michele P. Brown
Manhattan: I eat sushi for breakfast at 7 a.m. outside! Eva Tortora
Bronx: If you take pleasure and delight in watching immigrants being arrested and deported when their only crime was crossing the border to achieve a better life for their families, I guarantee that you would have been yelling, 'Crucify him.' Search your souls, for you are godless. John Cirolia
Mohegan Lake, N.Y.: To Voicer Michael P. Devine: Yes, the sky is falling. Nongovernmental organizations can be forced out of business when the Trump administration cuts their government-sponsored funding because many NGOs rely heavily on grants and contracts from agencies like the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) to finance their operations and programs. A sudden reduction in funding can jeopardize their ability to continue. The freeze established by the Trump administration has led to a number of educational and health programs worldwide, particularly in Latin America and Ukraine, halting operations. By removing senior officials from USAID, it looks like Trump wants to dismantle this agency. The sky is falling for researchers who work to prevent child deaths by creating more effective vaccines. Research partners were told to stop working. This abrupt halt could put medical progress back by years. The sky is falling for humanitarian aid projects in Ukraine that depended on this funding. Nancy Reinhardt
Ridgefield, Conn.: President Trump and his partner Elon Musk have axed USAID. Of course, they did so because Trump said the Biden administration committed fraud and he has the evidence. He promised to give us a report later on. Mr. President, will we see your evidence within two weeks? Millions of needy fellow human beings around the world need to know why they are going to be forgotten by the United States. Michael Pickering
Manhattan: 'Scare Away Voting Efforts' is a more honest acronym than the one being used (Safeguard American Voter Eligibility) to promote a measure meant to obstruct voting. It would require in-person registration, eliminating those who can't get to a registration location easily or at all. Real IDs would not be sufficient for registration. Rather than making it easier to vote — one of our most basic rights — the promoters of the bill use an acronym designed to mislead, making it look like the legislation supports voters rather than disenfranchising them. Voting should be easy. However, given the election lies that have mounted in recent years, this legislation is no surprise. Scare Away Voting Efforts tells the truth. It broadcasts the dangers in the proposed legislation. It says to call or write your senators and representatives and tell them to vote no on legislation that will make it harder to vote. Alida Camp
Manhattan: I've been reaching out to both New York senators and I've been immensely disappointed with the lackadaisical approach they've taken while the Trump/Musk administration breaks federal law. Democracies die in daylight if you let them. We're experiencing almost daily challenges to the rule of law. But our senators do not seem up to the challenge. What will it take for them to wake up and stand up for the voters who elected them? The U.S. Senate is not a retirement center. Stand up or resign! Jim Behrle
Brooklyn: To Voicer Claudette Mobley: I agree, our democracy is at its highest risk in its entire history. We simply can't put up with this. Change.org has just started a petition to Congress to remove the president and vice president for many reasons. Congress will not accept it today, but maybe in the 2026 midterm elections we can swing the majority back to sanity. There is also Indivisible. Brought together by a practical guide to resist the Trump agenda, Indivisible is a movement of thousands of group leaders and more than a million members taking regular, iterative and increasingly complex actions to resist the GOP's agenda, elect local champions and fight for progressive policies. Sign the petition and find your local Indivisible group or start one. Greg Ahl
Queens Village: Taken right out of the JD Vance Project 2025 playbook, a woman's right to her own lifestyle will be determined by the government if she is not married or has no kids, and where she lives by zip code! The government will hold back federal money for improving the subway system only because there are no children living there?! What? One has nothing to do with the other. Did I read this right? Oh yes, the abominable Trump administration is discriminating in the most vile way in its discretion, reminiscent of 'The Handmaid's Tale.' Your Sunday front-page news along with the article on pages 10-11 (' 'Breed and butter' transit plan: Fed money will go to nabes with most families,' Feb. 2) speaks for itself. A person who married three times, had a kid out of wedlock and continues to lie is still OK according to his own religion. The Republicans continue to be hypocritical in everything they say or do. Joan Silaco
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Nearly two weeks earlier, a coalition of advocacy organizations, including Common Sense Media, Fairplay and Encode, also called on congressional leaders to oppose the provision, writing in part that AI companies would have "no rules, no accountability and total control" if it were to take effect. In a letter dated May 21, 2025, the groups wrote: As written, the provision is so broad it would block states from enacting any AI-related legislation, including bills addressing hyper-sexualized AI companions, social media recommendation algorithms, protections for whistleblowers, and more. It ties lawmakers' hands for a decade, sidelining policymakers and leaving families on their own as they face risks and harms that emerge with this fast-evolving technology in the years to come. Discussions about AI companions and possible issues arising from their use have gained prominence in recent months. For example, research from Drexel University in Philadelphia suggests that inappropriate behavior, including sexual harassment, during conversations with AI chatbots is "becoming a widespread problem," the university said on May 5, 2025. Consumer Reports, another advocacy organization, also raised concerns about states being unable to deal with a variety of issues that AI technology poses, including sexually explicit images, audio and video created without a person's consent. Snopes has previously looked into other claims about the "Big Beautiful Bill," including whether it contains a provision allowing the U.S. president to delay or cancel elections. Arrington, Jodey. "Text - H.R.1 - 119th Congress (2025-2026): One Big Beautiful Bill Act." 2025, Accessed 4 June 2025. Brody, David. "The Big Beautiful Bill Could Decimate Legal Accountability for Tech and Anything Tech Touches." Tech Policy Press, 27 May 2025, Accessed 4 June 2025. Cornell Law School. "Commerce Clause." Legal Information Institute, 18 Sept. 2018, Accessed 4 June 2025. Hendrix, Justin. "Transcript: US House Subcommittee Hosts Hearing on 'AI Regulation and the Future of US Leadership.'" Tech Policy Press, 21 May 2025, Accessed 4 June 2025. Open letter from consumer advocacy organizations to congressional leadership. Common Sense Media, 21 May 2025, Accessed 4 June 2025.
